Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid is in a battle with Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic in this season’s NBA MVP race.
Both players have put up incredible stats all season long and have, of course, played massive roles in their respective teams’ successes.
While Embiid had been seen as the favorite for much of the season, Jokic seems to be pulling ahead in the race as of late. In fact, Sixers legend Julius Erving recently spoke out in support of Jokic, saying that the Denver superstar is more deserving of the award.
“I’m hopeful that Embiid wins it because he does talk about it, and it’s something — it’s one of those carrots out there that he’s reaching for,” Erving said. “But I think the most deserving guy is Jokic.”
Erving’s comments are surely going to upset many 76ers fans. After all, Erving is arguably the biggest name to ever put on a 76ers jersey. While he seems to be rooting for Embiid, it looks like he doesn’t believe that the five-time All-Star has done enough this season to win the coveted award.
This season, Jokic has averaged 26.8 points, 13.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists per contest in 72 games. As for Embiid, he’s averaged 30.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per match in 65 games. Clearly, both players are having impressive seasons that are undoubtedly deserving of lofty praise and recognition.
With just a couples of games left for each team before the 2021-22 NBA regular season comes to a close, it will be fascinating to see if there are any changes to the current MVP ladder.
Only time will tell who ends up being named this season’s MVP.
